Brown's Daily Word 1/7/11

Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this Friday morning. Sunday is just around the corner. While much of the nation is having a lot of snow we have had very little around here. It has been relatively sunny and bright over the past few days.
Our grandson, Simeon, had the first surgery of his life the other day. He called us and told of his experience, "Grandpa, Grandmom". We are praying for his full recovery.
Our first Saturday evening service of the year will be tomorrow at First United Methodist in Endicott. Coffee and fellowship begin at 6:00 PM and the service follows at 6:30. Aric Phinney and his team will lead the worship music, Earle Cowden will lead the service, I will bring a New Year greeting, and Dave Hettinger will bring the message.
On Sunday we will gather for worship in Union Center at 8:30 and 11:00, and the Wesley UMC will meet for worship at 9:30 AM. It is a great thrill to worship and serve our Lord with obedience and gladness. Plan to worship wherever you are this Sunday, the second Sunday of the new year.
I conducted a service of deathand resurrection for Catherine Collins last evening. She was born in 1910, that is, the same year in which Mother Theresa was born. She loved the Lord and she loved life. It was a great time of celebration of her life, her faith and her testimony. She attended Alfred, Buffalo, Cornell, and Syracuse Universities, getting a Masters's degree to teach Math. We praise the Lord for her.
Praise the Lord for the way that Jesus enters our lives, into our frailties, fragilities, and sinfulness. We find Jesus in the midst of people who feel unneeded, unloved, and unwanted. Within the core of every person’s life there is a little bit of hell... “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” But thanks be to God that we have a Savior who "gets dirty" in the process of making us well.
Ministry involves meeting people where they are, and lifting them up to the Lord. It is not about judging them. To a sinner, to be invited into the household of God is a very healing thing. We need to keep this in mind as we go out into the world, fulfilling the Lord's command to make disciples of all nations. We are called to invite everyone in, no matter what their situation in life may be! We are called to bring hope in the midst of despair, and healing in the face of suffering.
Christ has the power to meet all our desperate needs and hopelessness because Christ goes where the suffering is. He is the Lord of the oppressed.

Luke4 : 14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XZ3ja-quhA
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue , Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott

Saturday, January 8, 2011
6 PM Coffee Fellowship Gathering
6:30PM Worship Service.
Worship Leader: Rev. Earle Cowden
Worship Music: Aric Phinney and the band.
New Years Greetings by: Pastor Brown Naik
Message By Dave Hettinger

Saturday 15, 2011
6 PM Coffee and Gathering
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music by a local worship Team, and Dave Berry
Speakers: Rev. Bill Turner,
Rev. Brown Naik,
and Dr. Elizabeth Droz, PhD, Dean of Students at Binghamton University